Changeable-speed device.



No. 879,710. PATENTED FEB. 18, 1908. J. A. WILKIN.

' GHANGBABLE SPEED DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY18;1907.

8 SHEETSSHEET 1.

No. 879,710. PATENTED FEB. 18,1908.

J. A. WILKIN.

OHANGEABLE SPEED DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 18, 1907.

3 SHEETS$HEET 2.

I 4 l a: 4

No. 879,710. PATENTED FEB. 18 J. A. WILKIN. GHANGEABLE SPEED DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 18, 1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

' To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH A. WILKIN, OF MATA'MORAS, PENNSYLVANIA.

crrANeEABLE-sPEEn DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 18, 1908.

Application filed May s. 1907. Serial No. 374.393.

Be it known that I, JOSEPH A. WILKIN, a

citizen ofthe United States,residin at Mataand in the device'of my invention I employ a ower shaft, an axle or driven member and an intermediate shaft. The intermediate shaft and axle or driven member are con led together by sprockets and a chain or ot er suitable means and remain so regardless of the connection or dis connection' of the other parts of'the device.

In the device. of my improvement the power shaft and the intermediate shaft are 1 connected by suitable devices such as gradu ated sprockets or pulleys and chains or bands [in series or progressively increasing sizes tosuit the var ous deslred differences n the power applied and the speed.

The sprockets or ulleys upon the intermediate shaft are a l loosely placed and I prefer also to loosely place those upon the power shaft and each loose sprocket wherever located is provided with a clutch device and means for actuating thesame. Each clutch device comprises a disk carryin a pawl and on aging a sprocket and a rate et secured to t e shaft to be engaged by the pawl so that the power and rotation of the shaft is communicated through the ratchet and pawl and disk to the sprocket or vice versa. A disk member loose upon the shaft is also a part of the clutch device and it carries a crank and crank pinand upon its peri hery are oppositely placed lugs. A frame 0 circular form concentric'with the said disk carries opposite spirally arranged grooves receiving said lugs and said frame is suitably supported by abracin device or series of rods whose ends are suitably secured to the frame of the mechanism, motor vehicle or. motor boat. The crank pin of said crank is received in a slot between bracketed members secured to a longitudinally movable shift bar or "clutch device for engaging the pawl.

ratchet rod which is actuated by a lever. This lever is manually actuated to clutch or un-clutch the pawl and each series of sprockets and chains or band wheels is provided with a similar and independently actuated lever and Each pawl has a prolongation in the form of a lever rojecting through an opening in the clutch OX eriphery adjacent to the rim of the disk mem er and as this disk member is turned by its crank it is moved lengthwise of the inter mediate shaft by the action of its lugs in the spiral grooves of the frame; this movement causing the rim of the disk member to override-the lever or projecting end of the pawl to move and disengage'thepawl from the ratchet, and in the reversed direction this device moves backout of the way to permit the lever end of the pawl to project and the pawl point to engage .the ratchet. These clutch parts are duplicated with each loose sprocket or band-wheel and where both the power shaft and the intermediate shaft are provided with com anion series of loose sprockets the cranks 0 each pair are simultaneously engaged and operated by a common shift bar andmanually actuated lever.

In the drawings I have shown the devices of my improvement as separate and distinct from any particular mechanism, motor vehicleor motor boat with which they may be connected, and only associated with a ower shaft, a driven shaft oraxle and an intermediate shaft.

In these drawings, Figure 1 is a pers ective view generally representing the three shafts. and the devices of my improvement. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the devices shown in Fig. 1 except the pulleys or sprockets and their. chains or bands. In t is figure I have shown the shift bars and their actuating levers and parts of the device broken 0 en so as to illustrate the pawland evice within. Fig. 3 is a vertical section and partial elevation along the line of the intermediate shaft. Fig. 4 is a plan of the parts shownin Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an elevation of part of the sproc 'et together with thefianged disk next thereto and in which figureI have shown also the pawl and elevation atone side of a sprocketshowing the construction thereof with special reference to the pawl device. Fig. 11 is a sectional plan on the, dotted line :v, :v, of Fig. 5. Fig. 12 is a plan of the pawl device. is an elevation of the ratchet, Fig. 14 an 'elevation of the sleeve within the ratchet,

' Fi p15 an elevation of a sleeve around the ax e and hereinafter described, Figs. 16 and of the frame flanged.

17 are cross sectionsdisk and awl case devices similar "to the parts in Fig. 3 but of larger size and Fig. 18

1s a plan of a modification.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, a represents the power shaft, the driven shaft and c the intermediate shaft, For these shafts suitable end bearings are'to be provided for mounting the same according to the devices with which this ap aratus is employed.

On the interme 'ate shaft 0 isa pulley or sprocket, and on the driven, shaft b is a. pulley'or sprocket b: thechain or band passlng around a and b to connect the saine so that the power and rotation of the intermediate shaft '0 is communicated to the driven shaft 5. I

I have. shown upon the power shaft a a series of pulleys or sprockets d (1 d and u on the intermerhate shaft 0- a series of 'pu eys or sprockets ee 6 and bands or chains 2 3 4: passing around these several pulleys or sprockets or connecting-the same and for transmittingl'the' power and rotation of the shaft '0 to t sizes. T e gluestion of. their size bears no relation to t "e essential features of my invention ,as they according-to t imparted to the intermediate sha t.

' he series of pulleys or sprockets on the are to be regulated at will power shaft 0. may be fastened. thereto, and each of the series of pulleys or sprockets on the intermediate sha t are provided a clutch to connect them at will to the shaft,

.. .otherwise theywill be free from the rotation of the shaft.

': The series of pulleys or sprockets on the power shaft may if desired be madein a simiar manner as those on the intermediate shaft, that is, each provided with a clutch so that unless the clutch is inengagement the pulley or sprocket is free' from the shaft-.-

Each clutchdevice in the structure of my improvement is made thesame and except for a few minor details the description of one will answer for all. v

As shown in Figs. land 2, the series of pulleys or sprockets on the ower and intermediate shafts are provide with clutch devices and concentric supporting frames: f f

show these frames .concentric with these axles connected together by a bar 5 and having end bars 6 7 extending to suitable pointsof support where they are fastened 1n the Fig, 13'

e shaft 6. These series ofpulleys or s rockets'are shown as of different e differences 1n s eed to be mechanism or'in the frame of the motor vehicle or motor boat; f is an apertured face plate secured to-or formed integral with the said frames. Each .of these frames has a corresponding construction.

' Each frame 1s provided upon opposite sides with spiral groove cases 9 g which are sub stantial parts of the frame connecting the I said members to ether and these frames re,-

ceive the flange disk'member h and the spiral groove cases receivethe lugs 8 9 upon opposite sides of the said flanged disk member. Each disk member is provided with a these cranks and ins being illustrated in the perspective View ig. 1. The turning of the disk member by its crank and pin from one crank h and crank pin h the positions of 30 of thesepositions to theother and by virtue I of the lugs inthe s iral' groove cases, a backand forth motiona ong the shaft is thus provided shifting. the position of the said flanged v F disk member. l I provide a ainst oneface of each'pl lley or sprocket a anged apertured disk'i and'a pawl 7r: within the. same. This pawl has 4 shouldered sides which are received inapertures in the opposite walls of the disk 'iand cover disk d which form bearings for the pawl, and the pawl is has aprolongation or lever k which extends in a direction opposite to the tooth or point of the pawl through the aperture in the flanged disk-and said pawl is also provided with a rib 10. The

flanged disk'i is formed soas to fit upon one face of a s rocket. Fig. 3 shows one of these flanged d1sks against each opposite face of the sprocket e and one 'a ainst one faceof the sprocket e. i, is the ange of this disk'i and this flange shows promlnent-ly at the lower portion of Fig. 3 where the section is taken through the flange in contradistinction to the aperture showingthe pawl and which comes on the opposite side of the said disk.

groove is large enough to permit the rib end I of the pawl to swing to the extremes of the engaged and. dis-engaged, positions of the,

pawl' This groove 12 together with the rib 10 of the'pawl serves'also-for transmitting power either from the sprocket through the rib and the pawl to theratchet, or in the opposite direction.

Z the ratchet-wheel located between the disk '1. and the cover disk '5 surrounding the l axle c and connected thereto, and this ratchet 1 is notched at opposite sides so as to pass over the respective ends of a pin 13 which pin passes through the collarm and through the axle c. Fig. 3 illustrates a series of these collars and pins and Figs. 13 and Mshow the ratchet and'the collar m separately; the pin 13 being longer than the diameter of the- Referring to Fig 3, I provide a sleeve or' collar n arouridthe ax-le c and fitting within the s rocket e This collar atits left hand end ts into an opening in the disk i and. at. its right hand end fits-into an opening in the plate f of the frame; said frame as shown in ig. 8 being provided with a lug 14 enterin a notch in the end of this collar a. From t is it will be ap' arent that as the frames f f 1 and the frame Ertef are held in a fixed osition that there ore the sleeve n connecte by the lug 14 received in its end notch n must also remain stationary, the sprocket e turning around the said sleeve.

Referring to Fig.3, I have shown a collar 0 i at the left hand end with a bolt for clamping the same to the axle c, and 0" 0 are also collars oppositely laced, assing through the sprocket e? and aving tfieir flanged ends received in the oppositely placed disks 5., and in this figure it will be noticed that the pulley c is connected to the shaft by a bolt so it is clamped in position, and that all the operative parts on this shaft 0 are between the pulley and theeollar 0, and that they are only connected and held in position by the'pinsl3; the longitudinal position of these parts in a compact relation being effected by the collar 0 as clamped to the axle and the parts being held between the said pulley and the said collar. 7

Referring particularly to Fig. 2, I have illustrated two horizontally placed shift bars r 1* connected at one end to manually actuated levers s s mounted upon an axle or shaft t; these shift bars being provided with bracket-members 15 16 in pairs which receive the crank clutch devices.

From Fig. 2 it will be noticed that the pawl is associated with the left hand clutch is not spring actuated, while the pawl 7c of the right hand clutch device is provided with a.

spring 17 and while the spring 17 insures the tooth of the pawl being in enga ement with the ratchet, the said pawl can operated and depressed so as to u'n-latch the awl from the ratchet by the flange of the disk It over-riding the. same as shown in 5.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the first bar 11,

with its bracketed members is connected to the first pair of cranks h and the second bar 1" ma parallel position behind the bar rand connected to the lever s is in turn connected to the second pair of cranks which are in the noticed that while the flange pins h of the respective opposite position. The lever s Fig. 2 indicates the clutched position of the devices where the lever s is in the un-clutch posit-ion. FromFigs'." 3 and 4 itwill be noticed that the clutch device at the right hand side of the sprocket e is reversed in position to the c utch device on the left hand of the sprocket 6 the ratchets Z being similarly reversed. The two clutch devices on the left hand side of the sprocket e are similarly positioned. Therefore the clutch device on the right hand side of the sprocket e is areversing mechanism effective uponthe reversal of the engine driving the power shaft. It will further be of the disk h over-rides the pawl lever k on the left hand side of the sprocket e}, that it also over-rides side '6 and that the first clutch device on the left hand side of the sprocket e is free, consequently the pawl is in operative engagement with the ratchet.

The power communicated to the shaft a is transnntted from said shaft through the pin 13 and a ratchet-wheel Z to the. pawl, from the pawl through its rib and the groove of the sprocket or band-wheel to said sprocket orv band-wheel, and therefrom to the sprocket or band-wheel u ion the shaft 0 and from said sprocket or and-wheel on the shaft 0,

.the lever of the sprocket on the right hand through the groove 12, the rib 10 and the pawl to the ratchet-wheel and by the pin 13 to the shaft 0, and from the shaft 0 to the pulley c or sprocket and through the band or chain c to the pulley or sprocket b and soto the driven shaft 1).

In Fig. 18 have shown a modified form of my invention with reference to the reversing and starting mechanism, in which on the power shaft a there are clutch devices 19 and 21 and between them a'gear t and sprocket 1), both loose u on the shaft and independent; while u on t e intermediate shaft 0 there are clutch gear t ands rocket '0 both loose upon the shaft and eit er independent of one another or connected together at the pleasure of the user. All the clutch devices 18, 19, 20,- 21, are alike and like those hereinbefore described, the details not being shown in Fig. 18. These clutch devices are to be actuated also by cranks, crank pins and shift levers the same as hereinbefore described, and they may be employed instead of the bands and bandwheels of Fig. 2; the shafts a and c being brought nearer together. The sprockets v v? are connected together by a chain '0 In the operation of this modification. the machine can be started with a slow motion by operating the clutches 20 21 and connecting the clutch devices and shafts a c to'the sprockets a; v and chain 0 After starting, these parts can be dis-connected and the mechanism run as desired and as hereinbefore described with evices 18 and 20 and between them a.

motion and in thecase of a motor vehicle, to back the same the clutches 18 and 19 are operated to connect with the shafts a c and meshing gears t t so that the direction of rotation of the shaft a will be reversed in the shaft 0. For this operation it is immaterial whether the gear 25 and sprocket v are fastened together, or free of one another.

In reversing the direction of motion as here inbefore generall described with reference to the clutch device at the right hand side of the sprocket e Figs. 3 and 4, by the reversal of the engine in driving the power shaft a, I would remark that I do not limit my invention to this mannerof reversal for in some in-' stances it maybe desirable to continuously revolve the power shaft in the same direction inwhich event any 'Well known mechanism may be employed, such as meshing gears on the power and intermediate shafts, both the one on the power shaft and the one on the intermediate shaft being loose and engaged by the clutch mechanism when desired.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a changeable speed device and in combination with a shaft, a sprocket thereon and a clutch device, of a frame comprising the concentric partsf, a plate face f the concentric grooved members 9 g and the end bars extending from said plate face to a place of support. V

2. In a changeable speed device, the combination with 'a shaft, of a sprocket, a disk 1 ing against one face of the sprocket and flanged and apertured, a cover disk for the flanged disk, a pawl mounted between the two disks, a ratchet between the disks mounted on said shaft and adapted to be engaged by the pawl, a rib on one side of the pawl adapted to engage a groove of the sprocket face and me ans for dis-engaging the pawl from the ratchet at the pleasure of the operator.

3. In a changeable speed device, the combination with a shaft, of a sprocket, a disk lying against one face of the sprocket and flanged and apertured, a cover disk for the flanged disk, a pawl mounted between the two disks, a ratchetbetween the disks mounted on said shaft and adapted to be engaged by the pawl, a rib on one side of the pawl adapted to engage a groove of the sprocket and devices manually actuated and revoluble outside of the said flanged disk adapted to act upon the pawl to dis-engage the same from the ratchet.

4. In a changeable speed device, the combination with a shaft and a s rocket, of a flanged disk, a cover disk there or, a ratchetwheel between said parts secured to the axle, a pawl also within the parts and adapted to engage the ratchet, a connection from the pawl to the sprocket, a support frame adjacent to said ratchet face, spiral grooved cases su )ported by said frame at o )posite sides, a disk member between the sai frame parts and the ratchet, having a flange eX- tending over the ratchet face and having lugs received in the grooved cases of the frame, a crank pin connected to this disk member and-means for swingingthe disk member so that its lugs move through the spiral grooves of the frame to shift the position of this disk member longitudinally of the shaft so as to cause a movement of the flange of the disk member exteriorly and over the ratchet and pawl case so as to cover or 'un-cover the pawl end and contactin therewith to engage or dis-engage the paw from the ratchet.

5. In a changeable speed device, the combination with a shaft and a s rocket havin a radially disposed groove, 0 a caseforme of aflanged disk with an aperture in the flange and a cover disk in a juxtaposed relation with said sprocket, a ratchet within the case and .a pin connecting said ratchet for rotation to the shaft, a pawl within the case having shoulders in apertures of the disks forming the case fora bearing andhaving a tooth engaging the ratchet and a lever end adapted Y to pass through the aperture in the case and beyond the periphery thereof when the pawl is in engagement with theratchet and said the pawl from the teeth of the ratchet.

6. In a changeable speed device, the combination with a shaft anda s rocket havin a radially disposed groove, of a case forme of a flanged disk with an aperture in the flange and a cover disk in a juxtaposed relation with said sprocket, a ratchet within the case and a )in connecting said ratchet for rotation to the shaft, a pawl within the case having shoulders in apertures of the disks forming the case for a bearing, and having a tooth engaging the ratchet and a lever end adapted to, pass through the aperture in the case and beyond the periphery thereof when the pawl is in engagement with the ratchet and said pawl having a rib on one side received in the groove of the sprocket, whereby the rotation of the sprocket is transferred through the groove and the rib of the pawl and through the pawl to the ratchet and t0 the shaft, or in the opposite direction, a flanged disk member loose on said shaft with a flange of greater diameter than the case of,

the pawl and ratchet so as to snugly fit over the same, a crank and crank pin connected with the flanged disk member for swinging the same and means for manually actuating the same for imparting to said member a movement longitudinally of the shaft so as to cause said flange to override the projectinglever end of the pawl and depress the same so as to dis-engage the pawl from the ratchetwheel.

7. In a changeable speed device the combination with a shaft, of a frame device comprising the concentric portions f, an apertured frame plate f 2 formed therewith and having a lugl4, a sleeve surrounding the shaft and having a notch receiving the aforesaid lug, whereby the lug is held in position by the frame device, a sprocket surrounding and revoluble upon the said sleeve and com-' ing up against one face of said frame, and a clutch device for effectin an engagement I between the sprocket and shaft forthe trans mission of motion. v

8. In a changeable speed device, the .com-' bination with a shaft, of a frame device comprising the concentric portions f, an apertured frame plate f 2 formed therewith and. having a lug 14, a sleeve surrounding the shaft and having a notch receiving the aforesaid lug, whereby the sleeve is held in p'osi- V and coming u against one face of said frame,

spiral groove cases'g g 'secured to or formed as parts of said frame, a disk member h, flanged lugs 8 9 upon opposite sides of said disk member h, a crank h and crank pin h ,a case having an a erture in the periphery thereof, a pawl an ratchet-wheel within said case, the awl having a lever end projectin through the a erture in the case and adapte to be engaged by the flange of the member h and means for connecting the pawl to the sprocket and the ratchet wheel to the shaft and manually actuated devices for swinging the disk member h by its crank and crank pin.

Signed byline this 6th day of May 1907. J. A. WI'LKIN.

Witnesses:

' GEO. T. PINCKNEY, HAROLD SERRELL. 

